A Highland Photo Trip: Part 5 Ardvreck Castle

-

Ardvreck Castle - Fujifilm X-T2 + XF10-24mm f4 - 4s @ f22 ISO200 (zoom 10mm)
After a good night's sleep in a hotel in Ullapool we headed north at 6:30am to hopefully catch the sunrise over the mountains.  However a fairly steady rainfall meant we were not going to be lucky in that respect.  But as anyone who has traveled in Scotland knows, you just have to make the best of the Scottish weather because it rains a lot here!

 We decided to head to Loch Assynt to photograph the ruins of Ardvreck Castle which stand on a small outcrop of land surrounded by water.
Ardvreck Castle - Fujifilm X-T2 + XF90mm f2 - 1/500 @ f2 ISO400
Ardvreck Castle was built by the MacLeods of Assynt at the end of the 15th Century and stood until 1795 until it was struck by lightning and largely destroyed.

 The castle now stands as a ruin on the shores of the loch, surrounded by the Scottish mountains on all sides.

 As the light started to gather the rain eased off, but didn't stop entirely which was a frustration for us as we were using filters on the front of the lens and had to wipe the rain drops off at regular intervals.
Ardvreck Castle - Fujifilm X-T2 + XF10-24mm f4 - 2.5s @ f22 ISO100 (zoom 10mm)
While I shot all of the images in colour, the subdued light and low clouds meant that a moody monochrome conversion in post production using NIK Silver EFEX Pro 2 was a good choice.
The remains of the curtain wall at Ardvreck Castle - Fujifilm X-T2 + XF10-24mm f4 - 0.5s @ f22 ISO100 (zoom 10mm)

Further down the north bank of the loch lies the ruins of Calda House, the home of the MacKenzies of Assynt which was built in 1730.

 Back at the car park there are four or five information boards which include one on the history of Ardvreck Castle and one on Calda House (see below).
The Ruins of Calda House - Fujifilm X-T2 + XF90mm f2 - 1/320 @ f3.6 ISO400
We then headed north of Loch Assynt to Kylesku for our next stop on day 2 of our Winter Photo Tour of the Highlands.

 CLICK HERE for more information on Ardvreck Castle on the Undiscovered Scotland website

 Other features from this trip
A Highland Photo Trip: Part 8 Sunset at Altandhu - CLICK HERE
A Highland Photo Trip: Part 7 Clashnessie Beach to the River Polly - CLICK HERE
A Highland Photo Trip: Part 6 Kylesku to Drumbeg - CLICK HERE
A Highland Photo Trip: Part 4 Bealach na Ba to Applecross - CLICK HERE
A Highland Photo Trip: Part 3 Lochcarron to Loch Kishorn - CLICK HERE
A Highland Photo Trip: Part 2 Inverness - CLICK HERE
A Highland Photo Trip: Part 1 Ruthven Barracks - CLICK HERE

The 25 mile trip from Ullapool to Loch Assynt
Looking east along Loch Assynt with Calda House on left - Fujifilm X-T2 + XF10-24mm f4 - 3s @ f22 ISO200 (zoom 10mm)

Ardvreck Castle - Fujifilm X-T2 + XF10-24mm f4 - 1/160 @ f4 ISO400 (zoom 10mm)
Ardvreck Castle - Fujifilm X-T2 + XF10-24mm f4 - 1/80 @ f5.6 ISO400 (zoom 10mm)
Looking North West along Loch Assynt - Fujifilm X-T2 + XF10-24mm f4 - 1/80 @ f5.6 ISO400 (zoom 10mm)
The information board for Ardvreck Castle 
The information board for Calda House
Ardvreck Castle - Fujifilm X-T2 + XF50-140mm f2.8 - 1/45 @ f2.8 ISO4000 (zoom 50mm)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLEASE SUPPORT THIS BLOG BY VISITING THE ADVERTISERS ON THIS PAGE
By clicking on the adverts you are helping support this blog - thank you.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ALL IMAGES (UNLESS INDICATED) ARE THE PROPERTY OF MACLEAN PHOTOGRAPHIC AND CANNOT BE USED FOR ANY PURPOSE WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION

MacLean Photographic run Tours and Workshops in East Lothian and the Borders of Scotland.  CLICK HERE for more details and availability

Jeff Carter is an Official Fujifilm X Photographer and was named as a Fujifilm brand ambassador in June 2015. In 2016 he worked with the company on the launches of the Fujifilm X-Pro2 in Tokyo and the Fujifilm X-T2 in Paris in July 2016.  You can view his profile and gallery on the Fujifilm website HERE

If you like what you see on this blog please visit our Facebook page and click 'like'



Location: Loch Assynt, Lairg IV27, UK

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

REVIEW: The New Fujinon 2x Converter

-
Image
Yesterday Fujifilm launched the latest edition to the Fujinon XF lens line up, the XF 2X TC WR teleconverter for use with the XF50-140mm f2.8 and XF100-400mm f4.5/5.6 zoom lenses.  In April I was invited by Fujifilm to test the new converter and here are my thoughts on this new lens. Before I go into details I need to be upfront about something.  I've never been a fan of 2x converters because the optical quality of the lens is usually affected to a large degree.   I did have a 1.4x and 2x converter for my lenses when I was shooting with Nikon. While the 1.4x converter was regularly attached to my long f2.8 lenses, the 2x converter was probably used about three times in the 18 years I used Nikkor lenses.  I didn't like the results when using the converter so tended to not use it. Anyway back to the X-Series!  The 1.4x Fujinon converter was launched in 2015 and I have been a fan of this diminutive lens attachment on both the 50-140mm and 100-400mm....
Read more

Review: Little and Large - Using a Fujifilm X-T20 for Sport

-
Image
In July 2015 I posted a review of the Fujifilm X-T10 which I tested alongside my X-T1 as a lightweight alternative to the larger and more expensive camera.  So when Fujifilm announced the launch of the X-T20 I was keen to put one to the test.   I took an X-T20 along with me to the FIA World Endurance Championship event at Spa-Francorchamps and also shot the TCR International Series race during the European Le Mans Series event in Monza.  I also took a few shots with it during the recent Water Ski event at Hazelwood Ski Centre last month and these three events really put the X-T20 through its paces. Like the X-T10, the T20 is tiny compared to it's bigger brother.  Even with the battery grip removed from the T2,  the picture above shows the larger camera dwarfing the X-T20.   Now this can be seen as a good thing if you are traveling and need a lightweight camera with a big punch but when using it with long lenses such as the 50-140mm or 100-400m...
Read more

REVIEW: Using Nikon Lenses on a Fuji X Camera

-
Image
I've been using the Fujifilm X-Pro1 for the past month and I haven't enjoyed my photography so much since I bought the Fuji X100 12 months earlier.  The only issue I have with the X-Pro1 is the lack of a long telephoto lens.  The longest lens I have is the 60mm f2.4, which is the equivalent of a 90mm telephoto; it's a great lens but I sometimes wish my Fuji system had a bit more pulling power.   Fuji have provided the X system with a telephoto zoom, the 55-200mm f3.5 / f4.8 R LM OIS and I will be testing this lens next week for three days. I will be showing the results on this blog. However my Nikon kit has one of the best short telephoto zooms in the world, the Nikkor 80-200mm f2.8 AF-D.  I bought this lens brand new in 1996 for £1600.00 and it has been a faithful companion ever since. I've bought and sold plenty of SLRs / DSLRs in the past 18 years but I've never felt the need to upgrade the 80-200mm because it is still optically the best lens I own and it ha...
Read more